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LANETT — A police officer promotion ceremony took place during the Monday meeting of the Lanett City Council.

Sgt. Patrick McCullough was promoted to the rank of commander and officers Blake Brown, Terry Daniel, Hayden Fontaine, Kody Kent and Alvin McCarley were each promoted to the rank of sergeant. Sergeants Fontaine and McCarley will have new assignments. Fontaine will continue to be LPD’s member of the U.S. Marshals’ Task Force and will work with the Criminal Investigations Division (CID). McCarley will assist Lt. Brittani Reaves as a school resource officer.

In making the announcements, Chief Johnny Wood said the continuing mission of the Lanett Police Department is to serve the community by protecting life, liberty and property while defending Constitutional rights of all people with accountability, compassion, courage, integrity, knowledge and professionalism.

“These are the core values of the Lanett Police Department,” Wood said.

Accountability, he explained, is a matter of each officer in the department being held to a standard for their performance and conduct. Compassion is a matter of treating every person with respect while demonstrating an empathic understanding of them. It takes both physical and mental courage along with moral strength to resist opposition, withstand danger, fear and adversity in the performance of an officer’s duties.

It’s called integrity when an officer exhibits honesty and character in his or her professional life.

“We seek truth, awareness and understanding through education, experience and training,” Wood said in explaining how knowledge fits in. “We strive for excellence in our dedication to duty and our quality of service by adhering to the highest standards of the police profession.”

“We will provide the highest quality of police services to our citizens and to partner with our community to identify and resolve problems,” Wood said. “We will constantly evaluate and improve our efforts to enhance public safety and improve the quality of life for all people of Lanett. We will fulfill this commitment by being efficient and firm in our pursuit of justice. We will temper this with empathy, compassion and a conscientious respect for the diverse community we serve. We will execute our duties in an impartial, ethical and professional manner. We will not stray from the path and will be guided by our core values.”

Wood pinned each officer with his new badge of rank and saluted them. He then turned to the crowd inside the council chamber and said, “Please join me in a round of applause for Commander Patrick McCullough and Sergeants Blake Brown, Terry Daniel, Hayden Fontaine, Kody Kent and Alvin McCarley.”

They received a standing ovation from Mayor Jamie Heard, members of the council and the large gathering inside the council chamber.

“This is a special evening for me,” said Council Member Tamalita Autry. “I taught some of the officers who are being promoted tonight.”

“Congratulations to all of you,” said Council Member Angelia Thomas. “I graduated with Sgt. Kent’s mother. This is a great day for Lanett.”